Profiles describing a high school's quality and composition are one component of the undergraduate admission application to selective colleges, offering admission officers insight into a student's academic environment. This study explores alignment between the data admission officers seek in a profile to support their holistic evaluations and the…

The U.S. college admission environment has changed enormously over the last three decades. What have those changes meant for the profession of college admission officers? In this paper, the authors will describe the enormous changes that have taken place in high schools, colleges, and the entrepreneurial admission sector. They will describe how…

Undergraduate admissions in the United States is a multibillion dollar industry involving families, higher education institutions, journalists, testing companies, test preparation companies, private consultants, marketing firms, high school guidance counselors, high school teachers, coaches, financial advisors, and publicly funded programs.…

When addressing the best ways to utilize high school visits, education professionals must remember that while student academic preparation, family support and financial aid improve student access to postsecondary education, the adult tutelage provided to students, regarding the requirements for postsecondary success and the process of securing…

A critical issue facing a number of colleges and universities is how to allocate first year places to incoming students. The decision to admit students is often based on a number of factors, but a key statistic is a student's high school grades. This paper reports on a case study of the subsequent performance at the University of Winnipeg of high…

Tuition dependency, federal accountability measures, and desire for the prestige associated with college rankings all necessitate institutional attention to admission, retention, and graduation rates. The need to maintain institutional enrollment compels admissions officers to consider an applicant's likelihood of persistence in the admissions…

This study compares performance on the GED (General Educational Development) Tests, U.S. edition, across three groups of examinees: (1) graduating high school seniors in the GED U.S., 2001 norm group, (2) GED Tests candidates who took one or more tests in the United States between 2002 and 2004, and (3) GED Tests candidates who passed the tests in…

Based on information from survey data and personal interviews, offers 16 suggestions for college admission professionals from high school counselors. Concludes by asking college admission professionals to recognize the role played by high school advisors, to give advisors information they can use and pass on, and to consider the value of their…

Explores how to design effective admissions rating system by looking at selection of academic and personal measures, derivation of academic rating, personal rating, accounting for different testing patterns, and other advantages. Emphasizes importance of ensuring students that their folders will be reviewed in their entirety and that review…

Surveyed 77 high school counselors and 61 college admissions officers to examine the use of wait lists. Discusses the counselor's role and provides recommendations for counselors and admissions officers to reduce student frustration and improve communication. Stresses the need for a national deadline for wait lists. (JAC)

Examines process of college admission and recruitment activities to assure that colleges and universities recruit the best students for their campuses. Describes how to find the most desirable prospect pool for the college and how to recruit students from this pool. Offers suggestions to help assure the best fit for both the student and the…

University associate director of admission shares his theory on a better way to visualize an applicant's qualifications while quickly determining the applicants the university in particular should accept by individualizing the admission rating system. Discusses how to define the ideal applicant, establish an admission philosophy, prioritize rating…

Admissions officers devote substantial resources to high school visits and other recruiting events. Economic theory indicates that the best measure of effectiveness is marginal productivity. Subjects in this study were applicants to a large, Catholic, urban university and all students who participated in recruiting programs in fall 2002.…

College students posing either as high school seniors or parents placed 20 calls to 9 colleges and universities over a period of 6 weeks. Overall, the school performed very poorly in telephone communication and follow through. Findings suggest there are many problems to be overcome by colleges and universities in their handling of applicants'…

Counselors favor visits from admission officers, view communication as adequate, rely more on them than do public schools, favor use of information films, television tapes, and newsletters. Admission officers may have to provide more attention and support to private high school counselors and students. Data tables included. (EK)